Ice Day 2009

After school got out early on Tuesday due to the inclement weather, it was canceled altogether on Wednesday because everything was covered in ice! The boys were thrilled with our Winter Wonderland and immediately wanted to go out to play. I made them get all bundled up first, and then off they went.

This was the one picture I was able to get of them together outside. They were so busy unearthing big chunks of ice and trying to skate on the sidewalk that I had a hard time convincing them to pose for me, even for a second. I was able to get a few of them in passing, though...think they're having fun?


One of our trees with a lovely coating of ice.

Jacks came back inside with a cup full of the ice he had collected, insistent that we needed to keep it in the freezer. I'm not sure what he's planning to do with it. Maybe he'll make some cool, fruity drinks in mid-July when it's 100+ degrees outside? Note to self: pick up some little drink umbrellas. :)

On to cocoa. We had fun counting out marshmallows. It takes exactly 17 to cover the whole top of the mug.

Then Jacks came up with the idea of poking a straw through the bigger marshmallows because that would make the cocoa taste better. I'm not sure I entirely understand the mechanics of that, but he and Cody both got a big kick out of it!


The boys also made a fort out of chairs and blankets as a place to watch movies, but then were thwarted when they couldn't see the TV from inside. Teehee!

So they ended up on the couch for some Lego Batman fun. Nothing like an ice day to make you enjoy snuggling up inside!

Need a Necktie?

Luke's got one you can borrow! We had just gotten out of the shower and while I was getting dressed, Daddy decided to get Luke ready for the day. :)

Strategically placed hand, color-coordinated guitar in the background...he's a professional poser already!

I mean seriously, how can you get any more adorable than this? Wait, I think I've got it...

This should be the promotional poster for that great new series, "Baby Apprentice." He's SO much cuter than The Donald.

Jackson's Snowman

Jackson had a homework assignment to decorate a snowman any way he wanted in preparation for a school writing project. He came up with the idea of using planets, and after a bit of discussion with Daddy about moon craters and shading, he created the above snowman all on his own. I just love it!

The Wink

A few months ago, I promised I'd provide proof that Cody comes by his "winking-in-photographs" tendency honestly. Well, it all started back in 1995 when Anthony took what would have been a fabulous picture of the 2 of us and, according to him, "made it better." Riiiiiiiiiight.

Fast forward 9 years, and along came Cody. Here he is at 6 weeks, winking at Santa. Look how adorably Jackson is smiling. What a cooperative 2 1/2 year old he was! And there's Cody....making the photo "better."

I took this picture of my 3 boys this past April at the Arboretum. Pretty spring flowers in the background, you can actually see each of their faces, and Cody's...doing his thang.

Last summer in Vail, I got this great shot of Jackson and Cody riding their bikes early one morning. I didn't notice Cody's ocular gymnastics until after the fact.

And here, Cody was just not feeling the pumpkin patch. So, to entertain himself and irk me, he took a page from his Daddy's book and winked his way through my many photo attempts.

Now that I have this fun history lined up, I keep an eye out (pun intended) for more winks. Each one is like a little Easter Egg (you LOSTies will know what I'm talking about) that he hides in photos as a present for us to open later. He's so thoughtful. :)

And I guess now I have to be grateful that Anthony ruined made our Senior Girls' photo better, because we get that much more of a kick out of Cody's winks, knowing that he shares his Daddy's same silly sense of humor (and it should be noted that Cody had never seen Anthony's winking picture until I dug it out this past weekend). Like father, like son...seeing all the ways that my boys demonstrate the truth of that statement just never gets old. ♥♥♥

Happy Birthday Grandma!

We celebrated Grandma's birthday this weekend with party hats, balloons, and a delicious pink cake (the one that started yesterday's food coloring debacle). We had one giant candle that stood for her age. Didn't you know that one big white taper stands for 45? :)

Cody's favorite part was the balloons. He had such fun tossing them up in the air and then catching them....they fall at just the right speed for him to nab them every time.

Wait, Jacks looks a little different in this picture. Oh, I know, it's because it was taken 4 years ago! Here he is last night. Same pose, same cheeks...and yet, how much has changed!

Happy Birthday Mom! We hope this is your best year ever. XOXO

Baby Smurf

Jackson and I came home from his basketball game to find both Luke and Anthony covered in food coloring. Anthony said, "Meggie, I don't know where Luke went, but somehow this little Smurf got in here."

Apparently, while making Grandma's birthday cake, Anthony accidentally got some red food coloring on his hands and face. So as to avoid going to work on Monday with bright red splotches all over him, he went to the bathroom to wash it off. When he returned, Luke had gotten his hands on the blue food coloring and decorated both himself and the kitchen with it. And boy was he thorough! You can see he even has it on the bottoms of his feet.

Even after a bath, the child is completely blue. Hopefully it will wear off sometime in the next few...years.

NOTE: Yes, my little one does have clothes. He just prefers, like his older brothers, to wear as few as possible. And, had he been wearing clothes today, they'd be completely blue, so it's a good thing we allow our kids to practice nudism within the confines of our house, isn't it, now? Right? Huh? That's what I thought, too. Thank you.

Whipped Cream Fingerpainting

Many 4 year-olds need help with their fine motor skills: strengthening their little hands to prepare them for learning other school-related abilities like holding a pencil, tracing and then forming letters, cutting with scissors, etc. In our 4 year-old who has also experienced severe brain trauma, the area of fine motor skills is the only one where we can actually see a deficit or a weakness, and the only one that his neuropsychologist pinpointed as "below average" in comparison to other children his age.

Cody will begin Occupational Therapy in the next few months, but until then, I thought we could do a few activities at home to help develop those FM skills. So tonight (deliberately scheduled right before bath...hey, I'm no dummy), it was time for some whipped cream fingerpainting!

Luke was all over this, right from the start. Give him the opportunity to make a mess (on PURPOSE, no less), and he's first in line.

You can just see the glee. He thinks he's getting away with something...ON the table, covered in goo. He thinks it's only a matter of time until Mama loses it. Little stinker.

Then Luke ventured down to the other end of the table to help Jackson paint. At first he wasn't sure whether Jacks would be willing to share.

At Jackson's invitation, he dove right in.

Jacks tried to show Luke that the "paint" was actually pretty good to eat, too, but Luke was skeptical.

And then distracted by the fact that it was all over his legs.

Undeterred, Luke decided it was time for his America's Next Top Model impersonation.

"And I do my little turn on the catwalk..."

Ah. Now we see where he's going with this.

Target acquired.

Confident he could make an already large mess even more satisfying, Luke attempts to empty the contents of the can into an already full tray.

"Hey, this thing is broken! Mine's broken!"

Meanwhile, Jackson continued to eat the paint. Yummy!

And where was Cody, during all of this artistic, fine motor skill-developing merriment?

Playing dress-up. Apparently Bumblebee decided that whipped cream was "Ew." :)